Scottish schools urged to embrace Twitter

This is an edited version of an article in the 9 October edition of TESS. To read the full article, subscribe to TESS

Most Scottish schools have failed to embrace Twitter and are missing out on one of the richest educational resources of the digital era, a technology writer has claimed.

An analysis by William Jenkins, who blogs at edutechstories, found only 600 schools on Twitter at the end of September, out of around 2,700.

“If educators can’t get behind a tried and tested model like Twitter, which is free, has been around for nine years and has countless examples of success…then becoming a nation of innovation is going to be a struggle,” he said.

But some areas have taken to Twitter in large numbers, including Falkirk. With only eight secondary schools, it has five of the 10 most-followed secondaries in Scotland.

Falkirk also has seven of the 10 most-followed primaries, according to Mr Jenkins’ figures, and Moray Primary tops the list with 1,466 followers. Depute headteacher Lynda McDonald said Twitter was “fast, efficient and parents love it”.

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